Latest City Outings & Friday Favorites

Hi there and Happy Friday!

I’m about to head out to work at the studio, but I wanted to pop in to share a round of Friday Favorites before I go. Below you’ll find what I’ve been loving lately as well as quick recaps of our latest outings in NYC. I hope you enjoy reading them, and please let me know what you’ll be up to this weekend in the comments, too!

Latest City Outings & Friday Favorites

• Skyler’s first baseball game

After living here for three and a half years, I finally went to my first professional baseball game in New York with Scott and Skyler on Labor Day. It was Skyler’s first baseball game, too!

Scott’s work covered our tickets as part of a company outing, and I was thrilled to finally see what Yankees games are all about. We had a bit of a rocky start, however, with a three-hour rain delay. Skyler’s face here is hilarious. It’s like he knows there’s supposed to be a baseball game playing as he’s seeing a big white tarp instead.

We were about to call it a day when the rain cleared and the staff started clearing the field. We made a trip around the stadium and into the museum, and then finally to our seats to soak in some baseball!

Skyler had a blast and loved cheering with the crowd. He might have enjoyed the bag of popcorn even more though.

We ended up leaving during the seventh inning (we’d been there far too long at that point), but we got to sing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” first. It was the perfect segue out and on our way back home from The Bronx.

We’ll have to plan another game soon on a day where there are clear skies. I’d love to experience it again, without the delay and a little more sunshine.

• stroller hook

I don’t know why it took me so long to use a stroller clip because I’ve heard that they’re the best thing from almost every mom. They’re also known as “Mommy Hooks” and you can find them as most baby supply stores and online on Amazon.

My mom gave me one when Skyler was a newborn and it’s just been sitting in his toy bin. I’m an idiot. I finally brought it with me knowing that I was going to be strolling a lot of groceries home from a recent trip to Trader Joe’s, and it did not disappoint. My one clip held two heavy grocery bags, and now I want to get another one to be able to even it out next time. (The link I included at the top of this section features a two-pack!

Moms, do yourself a favor and get a stroller hook, like yesterday.

• Sea Wall / A Life Broadway

Embracing the great discounts that come along with Broadway Week, we scored some last-minute tickets to see Sea Wall / A Life last week. It’s a two man show starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge who give a whole new meaning to the word “monologue”.

The show is split up into two acts with an intermission, and it breaks up two completely different stories, each told by the actor on stage who is acting, singing, and captivating with the audience for a full hour solo. They each share tales of love and loss with opposite tones. Sea Wall is very dramatic and depressing while A Life brings more comedy. I absolutely loved seeing Jake Gyllenhaal on stage and was very impressed with his work. Tom Sturridge was wonderful, too.

Sea Wall / A Life is showing until September 29th, and it’s a good one. If you go see it, just remember to bring tissues!

• yoga & swim with Sky

Scott and I decided to finally join the YMCA insanely close to our apartment at the beginning of August. Having a gym with daycare included is game-changing for me, and I’m enjoying my solo workouts so much. I still fit in workouts at Orangetheory, but it’s also nice to know that I can always call and see if there’s a last-minute spot in gym daycare when I’m looking for a quick hour in and out by our apartment.

A big decision factor was also taking advantage of the pool and signing Skyler up for swim classes! There were a few different options, and we chose the yoga and swim with parents class. It’s a good way to get Sky introduced to what water is (hello, city baby), and we’ll go for more one-on-one sessions when he’s a little older.

Since Scott has been out of town, I took last Saturday off to be able to take Sky to the yoga and swim class, and I’ll be with him tomorrow, too. I don’t know who enjoyed it more — me or him!

I hope to be able to go with Scott on an upcoming Saturday, as we need photos of him in the pool being adorable. Until then, the one above is from our walk over in our swimsuits and cover-ups.

• Beautycounter store & meeting Gregg Renfrew

Between all of the extra challenges that I encounter while living in NYC (cost of living, public transit, tackling stairs with a stroller, carrying everything without a car, etc.), I tend to forget about the really cool things that are here, too. One thing that made me feel all the feels was my first trip to the Beautycounter store in SoHo this week, as it’s one of the few locations in the world!

For those who might have missed it, I’ve decided to partner with the brand and advocate for safer skincare and cleaner beauty in the industry. It’s a decision that I did not make lightly and had been thinking about it for years. Skincare and makeup is a fun business to get into, but it’s also about much more. The mission of getting safer and cleaner products into the hands of more families along with petitioning for laws that require companies to disclose what is actually in their products makes it so much more important.

When I got wind that the Founder of Beautycounter would be at the retail store for a meet and greet, I had to go.

Gregg Renfrew is an incredible woman who started the brand, and I was honored to have a conversation with her for several minutes. The best thing about it is that she came over to me and said “hey, you look familiar,” and we proceeded to talk about social media, success stories from friends who struggled with infertility and got pregnant after switching over to safer products, and how she likes New York City.

I got to see all of the products up close and test everything out to see what I’m going for next. Spoiler alert … I’ll eventually buy it all. I’m obsessed.

If you’re thinking that it might be time for you to slowly change your products over to a line that takes out the guesswork of what productes are safer for you, it’s a great time to try it out with the Flawless in Five promotion currently going on! It’s named Flawless in Five because it only takes five minutes to apply everything and includes a Tint Skin Hydrating Foundation or Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer, Touchup Skin Concealer Pen, Color Define Brow Pencil or Brow Gel, Lengthening or Volumizing Mascara, Satin Powder Blush, and Lip Gloss. And guys, the lip glosses are my new favorite thing.

You can get six must-have (customizable) makeup products for $150 and get a free Retractable Foundation Brush, too. There’s even more savings and freebies (including one of my top products – the Overnight Resurfacing Peel – $68 value) for Band of Beauty Members.

If you’re local and would like to meet me at the store to shop (trust me, I will buy things too), let me know! You can always email me at beautycounter@lifeinleggings.com with any questions about the brand or products, shop online, and sign up for my Beautycounter newsletter to stay in the loop with all the sales!

• favorite LIL posts

» A Full Day of Healthy, Throw-Together Meals

What I Ate Wednesdays are back! You won’t see a #WIAW recap every week, but my goal is to include one once a month. These posts share a glimpse of what a full day of meals looks like for me without planning or overthinking it. This is also follow up to the video I shared on Monday!

» Standing Bodyweight Tabata Workout

This workout is a Tabata-style circuit and is filled with strength and cardio exercises that keep you off the floor and standing. I’m also including my official Tabata playlist that I always turn to that makes timing out the :20 work // :10 rest pattern fun and easy to track! 

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today and I’ll be back to chat more next week.

Have a great weekend!